How Shellfish is a Common Allergen: It Can Potentially Develop at Any Time

There are times, your toddler would come up to you while scratching as they are still unable to verbally express what is happening to them and when you check and lift their shirt, you discover small red welts that are already spreading over your child's skin. Due to the worry, you think of every meal they consumed and quickly remembered you had marine animals for your meals, per Very Well Family.

Shellfish is a common allergen, particularly in kids, thus, parents must bear in mind that these have the potential to develop at any time so it's important to know the signs of a reaction as well as the symptoms and remedies of it, including when to seek emergency care; This is an atypical response by the body's immune system to proteins in particular marine animals. Marine animals in the shellfish category entail mollusks, shrimp, scallops, crabs, lobsters, oysters, and squid.

Shellfish allergies are the immune system's response to a protein in shellfish muscles commonly known as tropomyosin. Antibodies, on the other hand, trigger the release of chemicals such as histamines to attack tropomyosin.

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When do shellfish allergies develop?

Mona Amin, M.D., a board-certified pediatrician and owner of Peds Doc Talk told the outlet that kids can possibly be allergic to only particular types of shellfish. Emphasizing the fact that food allergy occurs when the body reacts to a protein found in a certain food. Mostly, individuals are allergic to crustaceans but might be able to eat mollusks.

Amanda Stovall, M.D., a board-certified pediatrician at Springfield Clinic in Central Illinois explains that shellfish allergies are more common in adults, however, they can also affect children including babies of any age. Adding that kids can develop shellfish allergies even if they have eaten such in the past without experiencing any problems.

Dr. Stovall says that signs of a severe reaction to shellfish can start a few minutes or a few hours after the ingestion. Anaphylaxis is an overall body's immune response to the allergen which means people can have more than one symptom. Nevertheless, allergic reactions to shellfish can differ, Kids Health says.

Avoiding the allergen is the best way to prevent a reaction

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists the top allergenic foods which are fish, tree nuts, milk, Crustacean shellfish, soybeans, eggs, and wheat. Dr. Amin clarified that food allergies do not have a cure, however, allowing your child to try common allergens such as shellfish may help lessen the probability of an allergy developing. In addition, parents should consider introducing the top allergenic foods "early and often" for kids to be proactive.

But when the allergy has been diagnosed by a health care provider, the main thing that parents can do is to teach children to avoid such allergen and to ask the person who gave them certain food before they eat food that is offered to them. These habits must start at an early age so when they get older, they would that there are certain foods they're not allowed to eat.

Moreover, allergies can develop at any point in a person's life and if appears early in life and eventually becomes a lifelong issue, per UPMC.

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